The BrandForward Blog

Oh brother. Here we go again. Another social media caveman unearthed. And this time the offending brand was Nestle. If it wasn’t such a disturbing incident that damaged corporate trust in social media and harpooned a heritage brand, it might have actually been hilarious.

So picture this. Short-fused Facebook moderator (let’s guess, having a bad day?) gets into testy debate with FANS. Yes, you read that right. A Nestle social media representative gave attitude to fans on their 90,000+ Facebook page when commenters disagreed with a logo policy.

Commence hellstorm.

Okay, I know this sounds trivial. But you see, that’s the thing. Nothing in social media is trivial. Anyone participating in social media on behalf of a brand or company does not have the luxury of copping an attitude, engaging keyboard before brain, or attempting to put fans or followers in their place.

And they certainly don’t have the luxury of back-pedaling or ignoring the scene of the crime while things cool down. Oh no. If you’re in social media, you must be brave. Very very brave.

Because fans will not stand for attitude. They won’t tolerate smugness. And they won’t go away quietly.

Are we surprised that Nestle was the next big brand to experience epic brand fail whale?

Not after I came across this press release issued by Nestle looking for “FUNterns” to promote one of their product lines in social media. Seriously. They were looking for “digitally-skilled marketing mavens” for internships. The only real qualifications for these skilled mavens were that the applicants be at least 18 years old and feel equally comfortable on Facebook as they are having a night out on the town.

Oh, and love Butterfinger…

Yes, these are the elite qualifications necessary for “dudes” and “divas” to participate in a global brand’s social media.

I’m not sure who’s the real cavemen. The FUNterns or the ones hiring them.

Okay okay. To be fair, we don’t know if the FUNterns were researching, observing, and advising the seasoned marketing team or if they were given authority to represent the brand on a large scale. But after reading the back-and-forth on the Nestle Facebook Fan Page my guess is they’ll let pretty much anyone have a whack at it.

When employees without experience are allowed to research, create, advise, and converse in social media on a learning or supervised one-to-one level this is a GREAT thing. But if people with very little experience are given the responsibility and authority to engage 90,000+ people at their personal discretion, this is a not-so-good thing. Just ask Nestle.

Here’s why.

First, it hurts social media aspirants who want the chance to learn social media and turn it into a career. When big brands don’t take social media seriously enough to make sure an experienced marketer is (closely) supervising interactions and leading conversations with Facebook groups and Twitter followings, it creates an opportunity for inexperienced persons to inadvertently SCREW UP BIG TIME. Which means other brands paying attention become afraid to hire inexperienced persons. And then no one can get into social media at a big brand unless they have a master’s degree and ten years experience. And that’s not what needs to happen.

Companies need interns and other inexperienced learners. And those learners need the opportunity to gain experience and grow. But they don’t need to be thrown on stage. And that’s what social media is for a brand. It’s a world stage.

With all due respect, I know there are plenty of inexperienced people working in social media and doing a really good job. There will always be talented, discerning people of all ages who have an innate ability to do a job fabulously without a lot of experience. But these are the exceptions, and not the rule. As we’re seeing.

The biggest reason why letting inexperienced people have a high-profile role in social media is a bad idea is that the brand could get seriously damaged by what may seem like minor transgressions. I realize that to a busy marketing manager, an intern or a “social media heavy user” may seem to have the magic knowledge to engage in the space. But most interns and marketing trainees have never witnessed a public relations meltdown from the inside out; they’ve never sat in on a serious strategy session; they’ve never faced the fallout from a quarterly; they’ve never seen the results of a brand violation; and they don’t have any idea how expensive it is to acquire a single loyal customer (very). They just haven’t developed the respect for the brand and consumer that comes with exposure to a variety of marketing situations.

Without experiences like these, it’s hard to give social media the deference it deserves. Because social media can impact each of those scenarios in a big, big way.

That’s why company leadership can’t afford to allow marketing directors and brand managers to dismiss social media as “something the interns do.”

Brands and companies must pressure marketing management into allocating time to learn and engage in social media personally, and make it a larger part of their daily responsibility. A key part of their responsibility.

Not pawning it off on whoever’s billable time is cheapest.

Only then will they realize that social media is not an entry-level role. It’s quickly becoming a company’s most powerful connection to the consumer, and can be filled with tricks, traps, and land mines. For reasons of sheer safety, it should be conducted by members of the team who have a high level of marketing knowledge and a deep respect for the brand.

I mean seriously. If you bring in a spanking new employee or marketing trainee and their first responsibility is talking directly with consumers on Facebook or Twitter, the role can’t possibly be seen as all that critical. Not by the employee and not by management. But if that same role is something that an employee has to work up to over the course of time, one where they have to demonstrate their investment to the brand before they can be promoted into it, all of the sudden that’s a job people will take seriously. It becomes a position that more qualified people want, one they’ll have to work a lot harder to acquire.

And they’ll take it a lot more seriously once they get it.

To the uninitiated, social media is a casual conversation. One where you can let it all hang out, say whatever’s on your mind, and even occasionally engage in smack talk. But to the experienced, it is the holy grail.

Sacred, precious, and easily broken.